Animal operated drinking bowl



Dec. 29, 1953 A. E. ANDERSON ANIMAL OPERATED DRINKING BOWL Filed Oct. 6, 1949 3 Rmww or E T? N mm m 2. WA w 1 A i f x u 5 A 5 0/0 4 Q 4 6 MT 7 0 5 N a 6 M Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNIT ED STATES OFFICE ANIMAL .OBERATED DRENKINGzBOWLz. Austin E...Anderson, Jamestown; my: Application-October 6, 19 49;:S1irialahloal 19fi32w 4;.Claims. (Cl. 111-9j-75) Thissinventiom relatemto: anzanimal. drinkin fountain of: the type. embodying, a: pivotally' mounted presser plate: or lever designed. to open azwaterrsupply or replenishmentrvalve when; depressedriby' contact: withythe. animal's: nose-1 as it: seekssto-idrink the smalltamount of-rresidual water: ioundzvin thevbowL; Thisrdepression: of thevalve: actuating plate servesc to open a; spring; closedv-alye; the spring of-v which, normally;; holds the. plater in an elevated position." Thepivotal mountings: for these presser plates have; been of: various; designs; some more practical thaniothers invthe: attempts: to preclude accidentaldisplace-c mentiof the rplatebyxthmanimal. Heretoforerthe partshavezbeen imtheiorm of castings; hinges; 1 bflltsflandlthe'ilikei andi-these-parts rv havenecessarilyi increasedjhe cost-ofzproduction aswell as: thmmaintenance ofa-the-drinking;system:

The? primaryobjectiof'rthecpresent. invention-is; to: provide: aadrinkingzfountaina which is: prac'e- L ticaluand; yet :economicalaof 1 pro duction.: A; fur:- their'obiectg 'ofi athesinvention: is xto-provide a; con-1 struction; ,therparts :of :which aresreadily assems-w bledtand;simply-interlocked to; prevent unaua. thorized displacementvof 'thespresser plate;

The invention: further: resides; in;:a durable construction of-i stampingse. all; tending towardi eeonomysand'isimplicityofimanufacture and effie ciency in operation.

Tliezioregoingcandzotlier' objects :Wilh manifest themselves as the: followings description. pro-1- gressesaireferencez being had to; the .saccompa-ny-ie ingzdrawingywhereini" Fig. 1 is a top plamview ofithesimprovedadrinke ingafduntaimwith: a'zporti'on of the presser plate broken away;

2 i's a medial verticalsectional view through thedrinkingfountain:v

Fig, 3, is an enlarged fragmentary Sectionals view depicting the manner of mounting; the

presser. plate. uponthe bowl; and;

Fig; 4. is a transverse sectional view; more clearly showing the mounting of" the presser plate.

Referring more particularly-' to the drawing l thei-numeralcl designates the drinking bowl .body which is suitably anchored to a supporting upright 2 by means of a suitable fastener 3. A Water supply pipe 4 opens through a valve 5 and a downwardly directed spout B into the bowl. The valve has a valving member I, normally urged to a closed position by a spring 8, and a stem 9 which protrudes into the bowl and bears against the animal actuated presser plate [0. This plate is movably or pivotally mounted so that .1 assztha animaleseeks tot drinkcthe water; 161-!" maining in the bowl. from the previous use its nose willedepress:the plate against theurge. of: the valve springv 8i and open the water lineto replenish and admit the demandedv volume. of, water-.

Heretofore, the presser-plate and'the :bowl have. been; more expensiveand: complicatedcastings (to= Withstandscontinued rough usage; The. pivotal;

mountings fOluthG pressers platesemustbe rugged since theanimal vis .likelyto engageritsrtongue; on. mouth therewith" and move or liftr-thervsame-r to. subject the: pivotal mounting, to;- abnormal strain and unnecessary wear and tear; It is. thereforenecessarythat=the.pivotalmountinggbe well. constructedtoc withstand. these: abnormal. strains.

According-tothepresent.inventioncthe presser plate isrinrthe-form-ofastamping-and may thereeforebeeeconomicallysproduced.l Themountingis such-that the; presser-H plate rlocksvitself; againstl. accidental.-- displacement bye the animaL with cooperating;parts whichcenable one tobetelescopedeoversthe othertin: a mannento utilize thewelleknownztransom-rtypevlock;whereinonecoithe members whemti-ltedz upon-the 1 other, .willl j ameor;

bind; against the, companion, part to. secure itfie 1 and---is.-designeds to: slidablyereceive inctherslot v or.- openingL l3z-an iupstandingtanchorzlug" l4 fixed, to the ebowlt-withi sufficient clearance to. enable thei neoessary though: limited lpivotalr movement ohtherpresser: plate -ion opening, the J valve Beyond this. small amount of pivotal movement the offset:- corners. of the-1 walls of: the: recess l 3 willl To.-this, end'c-the bowliandhthev'presser plate arepmyidedl This flange. is. shaped :to provide; offset corners at opposite sides.

upon the valve stem 9. In this position of rest, the flange I2 is supported on the seat 6 out of locking engagement with the anchor lug from which it may be depressed to open the valve.

As a further means of precluding accidental displacement of the presser plate from the bowl, the upper end of the anchor lug I4 is deflected laterally to provide a stop or retaining shoulder I5 which necessitates the presser plate being lifted bodily out of the bowl and then swung about the shoulder to effect total displacement, as indicated in Fig. 3. To mount the presser plate, the leaf I2 is passed over the free end of the shoulder I5 and thereafter moved over onto the upright portion to dispose the presser plate properly within the bowl.

The anchor lug M is preferably stamped from sheet metal stock and formed with an opening I6 to receive the outer end of the body of the valve 5 in providing a sturdy construction. The spout 6 is likewise preferably stamped from sheet metal and seats upon the body plate of the anchor lug where the two parts are secured together by suitable means, such as the fasteners I1. This provides for simplicity in construction in which the two plates 6 and I4 cooperate to form a water conduit, with the valve 5 being interposed between the composite nozzle thus formed and the back wall I 8 of the bowl to which the valve and nozzle are secured by the fasteners I1. The back wall I8 has an opening in which to seat the valve 5 therein. Consequently, the fasteners I'I securely interlock the supporting anchor lug I 4 and the valve 5 to the side wall I 8.

The construction is simple and economical with the vertically slidable presser plate having sufficient clearance for the necessary pivotal movement to open the valve. Any attempt to displace the presser plate by swinging it upwardly will serve to cause its flange I2 to grip the upright support l4 against displacement. The presser plate herein referred to is also protected from lateral movement to hold this presser plate in perfect alignment in relation to the inside of the water bowl. The simple combination of the presser plate, slot and vertical support, therefore, is new and well constructed to withstand the abnormal strains natural with this type of equipment.

While the fore oing description has been given in detail, it is without thought of limitation since the inventive principles involved are capable of assuming other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an animal drinking fountain including a bowl, a water supply pipe, a valve assembly connected adjacent the end of the water supply pipe for controlling the discharge of water into said bowl, said Valve assembly including a valve, a spring normally seating said valve, and a valve stem for said valve, said valve stem having an end portion within said bowl, an upstanding anchor lug supported within the bowl and having an opening through which said valve stem extends, said anchor lug including inner and outer side face portions and laterally extending shoulders, and a swingable presser plate in said bowl. said presser plate including a flange portion, said flange portion being formed with a slot to receive said anchor lug, said flange including lateral projecting portions at each side of its slot for seating engagement upon said shoulders, the slot in said flange being slightly greater than the upstanding lug extending therethrough to permit the swinging movement of the presser plate upon said shoulders to a position for operative engagement with said valve stem and frictional gripping engagement between the Walls of the flange slot and the inner and outer face portions of said lug, whereby the presser plate is secured against vertical movement on said lug during opening movement of the valve.

2. In an animal drinking fountain, a bowl, a

I water supply pipe extending horizontally through a'wall of the bowl for discharging water therein, a valve assembly at the discharge end of said supply pipe, said valve assembly including a valve body having a seat, a valve, a spring normally seating said valve on said seat, and a valve stem connected to the valve and projecting outwardly of the end of the supply pipe, an upstanding anchor lug supported within the bowl and having an opening through which the valve stem extends, said anchor lug including inner and outer side face portions and laterally extending shoulders, a swingable presser plate in said bowl, said presser plate including a horizontal flange portion, said flange portion being formed with a slot to receive said anchor lug, said flange having lateral projecting portions at each side of its slot for seating engagement upon said shoulders, said slot in said flange being slightly greater than the upstanding lug extending therethrough to permit the swinging movement of the presser plate upon the shoulders to a position for operative engagement with said valve stem, a spout member fixed to said anchor lug for receiving the flow of water from said supply pipe and directing same downwardly, and a stop member at the upper end portion of said anchor lug for limiting the upward movement of said presser plate.

3. The structure of claim 2 characterized in that the valve body is fixed in the wall of the bowl and the anchor lug is flxed to the outer end of the valve body.

4. The structure of claim 2 characterized in that the spring normally seating the valve engages a shoulder on the valve stem to normally urge the valve stem outwardly for operative engagement with the presser plate.

AUSTIN E. ANDERSON.

References Cited in the file 01' this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,774,876 Ferris Sept. 2, 1930 2,067,112 Ahlman Jan. 5, 1937 2,260,817 Anderson Oct. 28., 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 372,706 Great Britain May 12, 1932 

